Searching for information on the Internet has become second nature for most computer users. Search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, and MSN provide a sorted list of results for a query based on globally optimized criteria like keyword match, relevance, and most viewed. But what search engines currently lack is the ability to provide a list of search results sorted specifically for a user based on the user's individual likes, dislikes and interests.
Privacy concerns limit the amount of personal information that can be kept, and scalability issues limit the individualized query processing that a search service can provide. What is needed is a means to personalize search results. What is also needed is a means to automatically learn personal preferences, and maintain this personal data securely and privately. What is further needed is a solution to provide personal ranking of search results. Also needed is a means to harmonize personalized search results methodology with Internet-implemented revenue models, in particular, advertisement revenue.